OOM-9 was an OOM command battle droid who served as the commanding officer of the Trade Federation's droid army during their invasion of the planet Naboo in 32 BBY. After Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice returned from Coruscant with Queen Amidala and gained the help of the Gungan Grand Army, OOM-9 was sent, with the Federation's battle droid army to destroy the gungans. OOM-9 was the primary contact to convey orders from Trade Federation leaders Nute Gunray and Rune Haako to the ground forces. He oversaw the battle while inside his own personal Armored Assault Tank, ordering forces to overrun settlements and prevent the population from reporting the invasion by destroying communications transmitters. The droids were able to create a victory for the Federation, but this was short-lived, as every Federation battle droid was shut down when Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Droid Control Ship above Naboo. The control ship's destruction affected OOM-9, as it rendered the droid commander temporarily inactive.
Constructed by Baktoid Combat Automata, OOM-9 was an OOM command battle droid of the B1-series battle droid line, who held the rank of commander within the Trade Federation's private droid army. When the manufacturing company began its production of battle droids on request of the Federation, Baktoid was forced to resolve the issues proposed by their employer to construct battle droids with the inability to operate independently. As such, the requirement forced the droids' dependence on a Central Control Computer located aboard a starship in planetary orbit. Therefore, in order for the Federation to relay commands and transmissions to their droid armies on the surface, it became essential for the manufacturing company to produce a series of command battle droids, of which OOM-9 was constructed as the most successful of the produced units.
Maintaining a record not particularly distinguished, OOM-9 operated within the Federation army as more than a simple squadron commander, having received a promotion to the commander general for the organization's droid armies during his service to the Federation. In spite of his unremarkable reputation, the droid was selected via digital frequency by the droid control computer. From that point onward, OOM-9 became the primary contact for Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray and other commanders of the organization's private military forces.
Later, in 32 BBY, OOM-9 took part in the Federation's, under the leadership of Viceroy Gunray, planetary-wide blockade of the Mid Rim Territories world of Naboo, which served as a protest to the issuance of Prop 31-814D by the Galactic Republic. Sometime during the blockade, transported by a fleet of Lucrehulk-class Battleships, warships that were illegally modified from the organization's Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighters, OOM-9 received special programming to serve as one of several command battle droids during the approaching invasion of Naboo.
However, following the seventh day of the week-long blockade, after the dispatchment of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Jedi Order as the ambassadors of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, in an effort to negotiate the blockade's ending, Viceroy Gunray contacted his secret ally, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, regarding the situation. Sidious proceeded to order the Neimoidian to accelerate their plan's execution and deploy his droid forces to the surface under the command of OOM-9, who was promoted to the invasion's commanding officer and served as Gunray and Haako's primary contact for assignments during the invasion, while also ordering him to kill the Jedi. With the army deployed to the surface, the Jedi were able to evade their demise by boarding some of the droid commander's many C-9979 landing craft, which carried the Federation's thousands of battle droids to the protection of the planet's forests, where they were landed safely away from populated centers.
Discovering the Jedi's escape from the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter flagship Saak'ak, Gunray and Haako contacted OOM-9 on the surface and alerted him to the Jedi's presence among his forces, warning him that they may have boarded his landing craft and to not underestimate them. Assuring that his forces would locate the missing Jedi, OOM-9 proceeded with his invasion as he dispatched battle droids and pilots to occupy Naboo settlements and destroy their communication transmitters, to prevent the inhabitants from reporting the Federation's illegal movements or requesting aid. With the loss of communications, the droid commander personally led the army to the capital city of Theed, the location of Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala, with orders to capture the young monarch and force the signing of the Federation's treaty and legalize the invasion.
With the loss of communications, the droid commander personally led the army to the capital city of Theed, the location of Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala, with orders to capture the young monarch and force the signing of the Federation's treaty and legalize the invasion. As his forces arrived within the city, Amidala observed from the Theed Royal Palace as OOM-9's battle droids and Armored Assault Tank Mk Is stopped directly outside her palace. Shortly after his arrival, the droid commander and his droids proved successful in their capture of Queen Amidala and reported his successes to Viceroy Gunray and Haako upon their arrival on the surface in the Sheathipede-class transport shuttle Lapiz Cutter.
Soon afterward, with the Queen in his custody, the Viceroy met with OOM-9 within the royal palace and commanded his droid officer to select a handful of OOM-series security droids to ensure the transfer of Amidala and her entourage to an imprisonment camp on the surface. The droid commander then called upon a nearby OOM-series security droid captain to follow the Viceroy's instructions. As OOM-9 delegated the mission, the droid officer left the company of his subordinate battle droids, which saved him from destruction as the Queen and her fellow Naboo were rescued by the escaped Jinn and Kenobi, who escorted Amidala off-world to the Republic capital world of Coruscant, to appeal her case to the Republic Senate in hopes of their interference in the Federation's illegal occupation.
Days into the Federation's occupation, OOM-9 began to gather information regarding the existence of alleged cities located underwater, inhabited by the planet's native Gungan species. Acting upon these rumors, the droid commander reported his mission to the Viceroy and sent his battle droids into position to begin scouring the Naboo swamps in search of the hidden cities. In their searches, the droid army discovered many Gungan cities, including the small city of Otoh Langua and the Gungan capital of Otoh Gunga, which led to their subsequent assaults.
Prior to the arrival of OOM-9's forces, the citizens of Otoh Gunga received warnings of the droid army's approach on the city. In alert to the coming droid forces, the Gungan inhabitants evacuated from Otoh Gunga to a hidden sanctuary within the swamps on the surface. At the same time, the droid forces fought against the Militiagung warriors of Otoh Langua, chasing the inhabitants from the city to the Gungan Sacred Palace alongside the citizens of several other cities during their attacks.
In the aftermath of the attacks, OOM-9 and his forces succeeded in securing control over the entire planet, as well as its inhabitants. However, despite the Federation's successes, Darth Sidious dispatched his Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, to Naboo in order to observe the situation. Meanwhile, OOM-9's forces found resistance from an underground movement of Naboo personnel, including hundreds of police and guards from the Royal Security Forces.
Following the Federation's capture of Naboo, Queen Amidala returned to the Mid Rim world in response to her unsuccessful pleas for assistance from the Republic Senate on Coruscant. As a result, the monarch desired to handle the Federation's invasion herself, which led to her enlistment of Boss Rugor Nass and the Gungan High Council's Grand Army in a decisive engagement to reclaim their homeworld from the Federation. However, while they plead for the Gungans to aid their efforts, OOM-9 dispatched patrols across Naboo and discovered the Queen's return to the planet and her presence within the Naboo swamps.
As Amidala and her forces planned their counterattack against the Federation forces, the Gungan Grand Army was ordered to the Great Grass Plains in an effort to lure out OOM-9 and the bulk of the Trade Federation Droid Army, while the Queen captured Gunray within the Royal Palace and the Droid Control Ship, Vuutun Palaa, was destroyed by the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps. Assembling near the swamps in the grassy fields, Gunray dispatched OOM-9 and the Federation army to engage the Gungan army, with orders from Sidious to exterminate the entirety of the Gungans. Protected by deflector shield generators activated by Captain Roos Tarpals, OOM-9's forces of Armored Assault Tanks and Multi-Troop Transports descended upon the valley from the nearby hills, where the droid commander ordered a preliminary bombardment against the deflector shields after observing them through his electrobinoculars, without success.
After a while, the command battle droid ended the bombardment and ordered the tanks to draw back, allowing the Multi-Troop Transports to deploy thousands of inactive B1 battle droids upon the grassy fields. Activated by the Neimoidian pilot Tey How in orbit, the battle droids began their march through the Gungan's shields, which was initally expected to not be possible by the Gungans. With the Battle of Naboo commenced, the thousands of battle droids fired upon the unarmed militiagungs, but were subsequently attacked by the Gungans under the leadership of Bombad General Jar Jar Binks and Captain Tarpals. In a counterattack to the Gungan's offensive, OOM-9 deployed several droidekas onto the battlefield, leading to heavier Gungan casualties. After destroying the deflector shield from concentrated droideka blaster fire, the droid commander ordered the standby Armored Assault Tanks to attack the Gungans as they began their retreat.
An OOM command battle droid, OOM-9 stood at 1.91 meters in height. He had two black-colored sensors, as well as bone-white plating with patterns of yellow markings across his body shared by other OOM command battle droids, to indicate his rank of commander.
Similarly to the B1-series battle droids of the Trade Federation Droid Army, OOM-9 was incapable of harboring independent thoughts, as he received instructions and commands from the Central Control Computer of a Lucrehulk-class Battleship. In spite of his dependence to a central source, the droid commander was specifically programmed to operate as the commanding officer for the Federation's droid forces during the Invasion of Naboo, in which he served to accomplish assignments presented to him by his commanders, Nute Gunray and Rune Haako.
While in command of the Trade Federation's battle droids, OOM-9 operated within his personalized Armored Assault Tank Mk I. In addition, the droid commander possessed a pair of electrobinoculars, which he utilized to observe engagements from distances during the invasions, as well as two antennae on his back, from which he communicated to Gunray and Haako. He also communicated through a vocabulator.
While Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition states that OOM command battle droids and other OOM-series battle droids are predecessors to the B1-series battle droid line, Ultimate Star Wars and Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition state that OOM-9 is a B1. Because both Ultimate Star Wars books and the majority of other canon sources treat OOM units as part of the B1 line, this article assumes The Complete Visual Dictionary is incorrect.
- William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Star Wars: Force Collection
- Star Wars: Force Collection
- Ultimate Star Wars
- Star Wars: On the Front Lines
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 42
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy